V is for... Virginia

V is for... Virginia... as in the State of Virginia. My wife was accepted into the James Madison PhD program for Speech Language Pathology, so we are relocating this summer from Utah to Harrisonburg Virginia.

It's not without some struggle.. we're leaving all family, our closest family once we move will be my Brother in Atlanta, Georgia. We'll have to tighten our belts for the next few years while she is doing research, teaching undergrad courses, and writing her dissertation.. but it won't be the first time we've gone through this.  Law School was a good training program for this, and luckily our kids are still young enough for this to be a fun adventure and not an attack on their social lives.

I'm sad that I'm leaving this writing hot-bed in Utah.. I've never seen so many successful and aspiring authors in such a small geographical location, but that pales in comparison to my wife completing her long-held goal of getting her PhD.  Plus, we've both wanted to give our kids an example of what is expected of them.. nothing less than a post-graduate education for all of them.

So.. in my remaining weeks here in the West, I plan to do all I can to soak in the atmosphere and support of the locals, and then I'm off to a new adventure, and much less disposable income for a little while.

At least it looks pretty there.

That's the JMU campus, bottom center. 



Comments

  1. Well, if you have to move to another state, Virginia is a nice one. I've lived here most of my life, although I haven't been to JMU before.

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  2. Congrats to your wife and welcome to the east. We live in Macon GA and I've found a lot of Georgia writers through blogs. It is difficult to be away from family (most of ours are in Utah and Idaho) But there are some wonderful things about it too.

    I was an assistant in the speech and language dept in our school district in Utah. It was a great job, I loved it. I wish your wife the best and hope it's a great experience for her.

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  3. We moved from No. Virginia to Oregon 15 years ago. At least you won't be in the DC mess at JMU. Congrats on her getting in and I hope you have a smooth and stress-free move.

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  4. It is wonderful that you are supportive of your wife accomplishing her lifelong goals. I am sure you will find a rich writing community in Virginia that will stretch you in a new direction. Technology will help you stay close to your family in new and exciting ways, although you will miss them, for sure. Go and explore the new territory.

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